You are here

Marquette State Fish Hatchery

Overview: Marquette State Fish Hatchery was established in 1920 and completely renovated in 1994. It is the primary broodstock and rearing facility for brook and lake trout that are used in both inland and Great Lakes waters. The facility also rears splake (a brook trout - lake trout hybrid) for both Great Lakes and inland waters. This hatchery has both indoor and outdoor rearing facilities. The facility has interpretative material to provide information on the importance of small tributaries to the Great Lakes, brook and lake trout rehabilitation, fisheries research, how watersheds work and how a hatchery operates.

The video below highlights the work of Thompson and Marquette State Fish Hatcheries and the DNR's fish stocking efforts. Video provided by Brian Whitens, Media Productions. An excerpt from Discovering program on WLUC TV6.

Location: 488 Cherry Creek Road, Marquette, MI 49855

Driving Directions: The hatchery is located about 3 miles south of the US-41 intersection on Cherry Creek Road.

Renovation History: In 1994, the hatchery was completely re-built at a cost of $6,000,000. A new main building was constructed along with renovations to the existing raceway systems. Covers were also installed over the outdoor raceways to reduce stress, eliminate predators, and improve growth and condition of the fish.

Photo 4. Marquette State Fish Hatchery (1998).

In 2002, capitol outlay projects to upgrade Michigan's hatchery systems included changing the roof design to improve drainage and changing the second floor flooring to remediate initial moisture problems. The Great Lakes Ecological Information Center was also completed at the hatchery. This consists of an outdoor interpretative area that focuses on the importance of headwater streams to the Great Lakes and an indoor interpretative area with exhibits focusing on watersheds, brook and lake trout rehabilitation, and the Marquette Fisheries Research Station. An interactive computer with hands on learning opportunities concerning our watersheds and other aspects of fish culture will also available in the indoor interpretative room. These facilities were fully open in late May 2003. The project is primarily funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (www.glft.org) with some funding from the Department of Natural Resources.

An Ultra-violet system was installed in the broodstock area in 2006. The UV system will sterilize the water that feeds the broodstock raceways. All creek water hosts naturally occurring fish parasites and bacteria capable of causing fish disease. During heavy rain events, warm summer months, and the snow melt period, bacteria counts could peek causing stress in the fish with potential for a disease outbreak in the captive population. A healthy broodstock population will yield a stronger more viable fish for stocking in public waters. Additional raceway protection in the form of shed roofs were added to the south facing ends of the broodstock and upper production buildings. These will help protect the broodstock and production fish from low angle sun that has caused prolong health effects in the past. In September 2008, Marquette Hatchery converted from oxygen generation to a liquid oxygen storage unit. This project was funded with Division major maintenance funds and will reduce future maintenance costs and electric use.

Production water: Marquette hatchery uses approximately 1,500 gallons per minute of well water and 8,000 gallons per minute spring water from Cherry Creek. Cherry Creek has the most stable flow of groundwater of any stream studied in Michigan. The average daily water use ranges between 11.7 and 12.2 million gallons. The water temperature of Cherry Creek ranges from 33.8 degreesto 55.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Well water temperatures are a constant 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Broodstock: Broodstock are captive fish that we hold so we can obtain eggs and sperm. In addition to the Assinica strain of brook trout broodstock, Marquette State Fish Hatchery maintains wild lake trout broodstock collected as eggs from Lake Superior Inshore Areas. Marquette Hatchery obtains Seneca Lake-lake trout eggs from the USF&WS for rearing and stocking in Great Lake locations in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Management Role: This facility produces lake trout, brook trout, and splake (a hybrid cross between lake trout and brook trout) for stocking into both inland and Great Lakes waters.

Areas of interest to the public: The indoor and outdoor interpretative areas are of special interest to the public and were fully open in June 2003. This facility also has broodstock raceways, which have large brook and lake trout. Eggs and sperm are taken from these fish during October and November and the public is welcome to watch. Please call ahead to find out what days the egg takes will be conducted.

Hatchery Hours: : The hatchery is open to the public at no charge weekdays from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm and weekends from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. For further information or to schedule group tours contact James Aho at (906) 249-1611.